Star
Shedar
Orange star · K0II-IIIvar
α Cassiopeiae · Cassiopeia
Shown in its true colour — like most stars, it is too far away to photograph as more than a point of light.
Alpha Cassiopeiae is a star in the northern constellation of Cassiopeia. It has the proper name Schedar, pronounced ); Alpha Cassiopeiae is its Bayer designation, which is Latinized from α Cassiopeiae and abbreviated Alpha Cas or α Cas. Though listed as the "alpha star" by Johann Bayer, α Cas's visual brightness closely matches the 'beta' (β) star in the constellation and it may appear marginally brighter or dimmer, depending on which passband is used. However, recent calculations from NASA's WISE telescope confirm that α Cas is the brightest in Cassiopeia, with an apparent magnitude of 2.240. Its absolute magnitude is 18 times greater than β Cas, and it is located over four times farther away from the Sun.
Description from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
In your sky
Share your location to see where this is in your sky right now.
Key facts
Distance
~228 light-years
Apparent mag.
+2.24
Spectral type
K0II-IIIvar
Luminosity
542 × Sun
Absolute mag.
−1.99
Catalogue
HIP 3179
Spectral type
K0II-IIIvar
True colour from its B–V index (1.17): a surface around 4400 K.
Did you know
- Shedar is also known as α Cassiopeiae.
- Its spectral type K0II-IIIvar marks it as a orange star.
- It lies in the constellation Cassiopeia.
